Method and apparatus for determining road network lane directional changes

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for determining road network lane directional changes. In the context of a method, the method includes receiving traffic data for a predetermined period of time, mapping the traffic data to a road network to create a traffic data map, determining a direction of travel for one or more road network lanes based on the traffic data map, and determining, using a processor, if the one or more road network lanes change direction based on the direction of travel over the predetermined period of time.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving traffic data for a predetermined period of time;   mapping the traffic data to a road network to create a traffic data map;   determining a direction of travel for one or more road network lanes based on the traffic data map; and   determining, using a processor, if the one or more road network lanes change direction based on the direction of travel over the predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 suppressing outlier traffic data to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein suppressing outlier traffic data further comprises comparing the traffic data to a predetermined threshold and suppressing traffic data which satisfies the predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining a mode of transportation associated with the traffic data; and 
 suppressing traffic data associated with a predetermined mode of transportation to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining the times at which the one or more road network lanes change direction. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the traffic data comprises location data, direction data, speed data, and time data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 clustering the mapped traffic data based on timestamps into a plurality of time intervals; and 
 wherein the determining if one or more road network lanes change direction is further based on the clustered mapped traffic data. 
 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 receive traffic data for a predetermined period of time;   map the traffic data to a road network to create a traffic data map;   determine a direction of travel for one or more road network lanes based on the traffic data map; and   determine if the one or more road network lanes change direction based on the direction of travel over the predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to:
 suppress outlier traffic data to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein suppressing outlier traffic data further comprises comparing the traffic data to a predetermined threshold and suppressing traffic data which satisfies the predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to:
 determine a mode of transportation associated with the traffic data; and   suppress traffic data associated with a predetermined mode of transportation to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to:
 determine the times at which the one or more road network lanes change direction.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the traffic data comprises location data, direction data, speed data, and time data. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to:
 cluster the mapped traffic data based on timestamps into a plurality of time intervals; and   wherein the determining if one or more road network lanes change direction is further based on the clustered mapped traffic data.   
     
     
         15 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein, the computer-executable program code portions comprising program code instructions configured to:
 receive traffic data for a predetermined period of time;   map the traffic data to a road network to create a traffic data map;   determine a direction of travel for one or more road network lanes based on the traffic data map; and   determine if the one or more road network lanes change direction based on the direction of travel over the predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the computer-executable program code portions further comprise program code instructions configured to:
 suppress outlier traffic data to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon.   
     
     
         17 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein suppressing outlier traffic data further comprises comparing the traffic data to a predetermined threshold and suppressing traffic data which satisfies the predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the computer-executable program code portions further comprise program code instructions configured to:
 determine a mode of transportation associated with the traffic data; and   suppress traffic data associated with a predetermined mode of transportation to avoid the direction of travel being determined based thereupon.   
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the computer-executable program code portions further comprise program code instructions configured to:
 determine the times at which the one or more road network lanes change direction.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the computer-executable program code portions further comprise program code instructions configured to:
 cluster the mapped traffic data based on timestamps into a plurality of time intervals; and   wherein the determining if one or more road network lanes change direction is further based on the clustered mapped traffic data.   
     
     
         21 - 28 . (canceled)